Samaritans return 2nd lost dog

Wednesday

Jul 10, 2013 at 12:01 AM

WOODBRIDGE - A Woodbridge woman and the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office expressed mutual relief after authorities found the second of two dogs that may have been wrongly released into the wild by a deputy last week.

Jason Anderson

WOODBRIDGE - A Woodbridge woman and the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office expressed mutual relief after authorities found the second of two dogs that may have been wrongly released into the wild by a deputy last week.

After devoting as many as 60 hours to their search, deputies found Nika, a 11/2-year-old German shepherd, about 10 a.m. Tuesday at the home of someone who asked to remain anonymous, said Deputy Les Garcia, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office. Nika was soon reunited with Patricia Haggard, 31, the dog's owner, as well as Haggard's children and their 71/2-year-old pit bull mix, Bella.

"I'm so relieved," Haggard said. "She had been living with another family, so she was fed, taken care of and bathed. She came back in good shape. She was so happy to see the other dog and the kids. She was jumping all over everyone."

The dogs disappeared from Haggard's home in Woodbridge on June 30. A deputy found the dogs July 2, but neither dog was wearing a collar, and the deputy didn't know one of the dogs had a microchip implant that could have identified the owner.

After trying to place the dogs at two animal shelters that would not accept them, the deputy drove the dogs to a remote field near Lucas Road and let them go, Haggard said.

Garcia said the Sheriff's Office has launched an Internal Affairs investigation into the deputy's actions to determine whether he followed procedure. Garcia would not discuss the investigation Tuesday, saying he can't comment on personnel matters.

Garcia said deputies spent 40 to 60 hours conducting area checks and answering phone calls during their search for the dogs.

"There were two good Samaritans who really helped us in returning these dogs, but they want to remain anonymous," Garcia said. "We were able to locate both dogs, which have both been checked by veterinarians, and they're both healthy. We want to thank the public for their help with getting the word out and helping develop leads that ultimately assisted in locating and returning the dogs to their rightful owner."